wide range of conditions. every day to nail it down to the exacted temperature that you are forecasting is always challenging. >> mike nicco, "abc 7 news" meteorologist. >> our microclimates are changing. our warmest months of the year andhs, itst months, it has to do with the microclimates. >> spencer christian, "abc 7 news" weather. >> a typical winter scene would be several consecutive days of heavy rain that would produce flooding, mudslides, road closures outapower outages. ♪ ♪

>> one of the most recent lightning storms, we had over 200 lightning strikes showing up. over the last two decades i've covered weather, i don't remember the lightning storms being that intense. >> the extremity of the weather takes an upturn. we had four storms in seven days, that is unprecedented. we haven't seen that much rain in a long time. >> back in the december 1995, it was a ten on the index. it was recorded in 63 years now. with that storm, we saw wind gusts on angel island up to 93 miles an hour. on the peaks over hundred miles an hour. they blow down trees and power lines and you have flooding.

you have all those impacts. >> lisa argen, "abc 7 news" meteorologist. >> we are seeing early storms and warmer storms and wetter storms, is that the new normal? >> i think we're having a new normal. it's not as hot here in the summers as it usually is. it's not as cold in the winter months as it has been in the past. i think we're seeing a new normal. every ten years we'll take the data and make new averages and they have been trending. i think that is new normal. >> the science at many weather conferences i have attended provided proof and the glaciers and charts of the temperatures rising, not just in one location around the country. i think certainly global warming is a huge threat to the bay area. if it continues at current pace we could be seeing major climate changes.

we're seeing changes around the country and around the world. >> i have to say one of the best tools we have is live doppler 7-hd. >> leigh glaser, "abc 7 news" meteorologist. >> when i am out in the field reporting on weather, it is spot on. it is so reliable, it's accurate live doppler 7. >> it's on mount st. helena. it is farther west than any other bay area radar. >> with radarn ands location and location, like real estate having ours in the north and farther to the west is going to help us sees comin storms cominn or coming in from the west. we will be able to see them quicker. >> logan johnson, national

weather service. >> ours is located near san jose so it doesn't cover the north bay so we use your radar as a key piece to understand what is going on. >> what doppler radar it detects motion and the movement of systems that produce precipitation and the intensity of the precipitation. speed at which they are moving. autothese things are basic things is what doppler radar does. >> go down to the street level to show people what is happening or what is coming to your neighborhood. you can go to the street level and this is going from elm street to oak street in the next five minutes, that is biggest advantage where we have it. think of all the lead time you are going to get in seeing a storm come in. that is again, getting people prepared for what is coming. >> i'll never forget this woman who was in mill valley. i was out there reporting out there.

her home, devastated. everything she has ever had gone. she came up to me. she said thank you. she said your forecast, abc7's forecast, being able to let me know days in advance. she was able to get her most precious things out thereof because we were able to give her that forecast. she came up to me with hugs and cries. that is why we do our job. it's trying to do it the best we can. ♪ >> coming up, bay area microclimates, find out why this region is so unique and how you can prepare for extreme weather

when storms hit, live doppler 7-hd tracks them first so you'll be ready. follow the bay area weather station on twitter at live doppler 7-hd. ♪ ♪ >> weather here in the bay, a, i would say, is either feast or famine. you get a lot of rain and you have chaos in the upper atmosphere or it could be a terrific, beautiful spring day. >> the challenge of the microclimates is coming in every day and knowing, the weather is

going be a little different than yesterday. >> i think people like the microclimates because you get so much variation. >> even within a city i can have four different loc fourith four different temperatures. one side of the city, out towards ocean beach could be fon with fog in summertime. by the embarcadero area it could be beautiful. >> trying to find that nuance and little glitch in the huge atmosphere that is going to make our weather different today because we live in thesees, it's microclimates, it's not going to affect everyone the same way. wait we cover weather is the different than any other place in the united states because our weather is so unique. >> you go out in kansas, you might have a one degree temperature difference. that is how most areas are. >> it's one of the main reasons

we have such diverse weather conditions from location to location. we've got higher terrain in the mountains and hills that ten determine the wind flow and shields certain area from rainfall or from the warming effect of the sun. we've got the ocean and marine influence that generally keeps areas near the ocean cool. >> you look at the south bay, mountains on one side and mountains on the other side and there is called rain fade. it goes up to santa cruz mountains, that is what creates the clouds, you need water and santa cruz mountains it rains like crazy. conversely when the air comes over and sinks into the valley, it stabilizes the atmosphere. and ben lomond will get a couple inches of rain and san jose will get a tenth. so the area the l getting the lt

population. there are so many different ways you can save water. water. >> i freeze water and put it in my freezer so if the power goes out i have blocks of ice that are frozen. that can be put in my refrigerateder. >> make your kids take shorter showers. >> you can ask the question, what is the season going to be like. are we going to be able to take a bath in the summer? is there going to be enough water? >> and months of jand and february tend to be drier. >> this year we're going with the upcoming winter being in a neutral position, what is known as lanada -- la nada. it's at or near normal.

>> the storm has passed and -- >> i got my start in salinas almost 20 years ago. i was there covering the weather. i've always been fascinated by science, whether biology, chemistry, you name it. i became curious and fascinated with the weather. so i tried to audition with couple other people to try out to do weather for the weekend night seos. next thing you know i was on the air. i enrolled in a meteorology program and i got my society seal of approval and my national weather association seal. i landed in san francisco, my dream job and here i am. that is our weather team, we have veterans here who know the area. for people that are newcomers

into this area forecasting, if you haven't been here and if you don't have the experience behind i, nine times out of ten you'll get it wrong. >> only in hurricane as tropical storms have i seen condiis bad. this bad. >> i begin my career as a news reporter. in 1971 in richmond, virginia. >> this is lean, mean weather forecast. round two, let's go. >> i'm at washington observatory we are way up 120 miles north of the arctic circle. >> i have found myself covering every type of weather, disaster and extreme weather condition you can imagine. i have been in 14 hurricanes. i have been in blizzards. i've been in massive floods. i reported live from hurricane hugo when it hit the south

atlantic particular coast. hurricane gilbert which hit the texas gulf coast. i reported hurricanes fran and burka and i was with "good morning america" then. here i am 40 years later, still forecasting weather and it has become my passion. >> coming up, warmer temperatures, severe storms, drier winters. a look at changing weather patterns and how they may effect you. learn how technology is changing the world of forecasting. ús

>> terry: san francisco bay area is highly vulnerable to severe weather and earthquakes. so we have cleared one place where you can find all the resources and tips you need to be prepared. visit abc7news.com/preparenorcal and learn how you can keep you and your family safe.

>> climate change seems to have come upon us so suddenly. even though scientists were telling us 40 years ago we could expect the kinds of extreme weather conditions we have seen globally in the last five to ten years. it was almost four years ago, what human beings are put go into the atmosphere we can expect these climate patterns. we are seeing higher global temperatures year after year. we are seeing more frequent and extreme storms. >> being a communicator, you want to be fair and open, you don't want to worry people or steer people. you know people are smart. they know about their weather and climate. they know that it is changing. >> certainly i think on a global scale we have seen temperatures

rising over the past few decades. the numbers are there. there are observations that these things are occurring. the way we live our lives will change. we see it when we do the news reports about water rationing. it will change the way we live. we may more to keep our houses comfortable. people living on hills, you may not be able to build there anymore. people living in low-lying areas the government may say its floodplain, little things and big things is how the weather is going to change our lives over the next generation, let's say. ♪ ♪ >> i could go on and on technince i started weather over 40 years ago. >> i'm spencer christian. >> when i first did the weather in 1972, we had a plex si covered glass map in the studio.

i had a grease pencil and i drew the symbols and drew snowflakes. then we got into something else, that allows a person to stand in front of a screen but all the images you see at home is somehow superimposed and transmitted. >> it's been the advent of the computer that has made our job better in the sense we are forecasting better, in the sense we can see things longer out, but also raised expectations and made it harder in that respect. everybody expects you work with computer modems, aren't they perfect? no, not really but they are getting better. these weather computer models that have algorithms, we can't do them by hand.

it takes a super computer three hours to crunch a forecast. you try doing that by hand or old computers. they also have helped us display what we know in a way that makes sense to everybody at home. >> live doppler 7-hd is a critical part of our storyelling telling, our weather forecasting where is the rain now and where is it going. it can pick up moisture. >> basically sat satellite technology and radar technology has given us the ability to provide accurate forecasts, to go from three-day forecasts to seven-day forecasts. >> doppler radar is a huge tool in the arsenal of meteorologists not just by us but even the media the people at kgo. their doppler radar is a very important tool. >> i saw something on our doppler that indicated there was

a real strong cell, the potential where it looked a little bit concerning. this is isn't something we see very often. literally, severe thunderstorm warning and tornado warning has been issued for santa clara county including the city of morgan hill. >> when you see a tornado on live doppler 7-hd you can see the wind moving in opposite directions moving right next to each other. the old radars you had to look at the hook and looking at precipitation shield as a hole. by the thing it makes a hook echo it's already too late you have missed the lead time to warn people. >> one of the most important parts of my job is to warn the public of up coming danger. >> our system is so sensitive it does it better than any system out there. >> still could to come, what

role can you play in forecasting. see how soc radio radio is chang the way we stay informed about bay area w [ female announcer ] pillsbury crescents are awesome. but when i cook up some beef, ketchup, relish and cheese, cover it with crescent dough and pow! cheeseburger crescent casserole. double awesome. pillsbury crescents. let the making begin. [ malcrrkkhshziiiizzlllee. to this symphony of flavor: beautiful. shhhhshshshshhshshhhhhsshhhshs. gorgeous! here comes the crescendo. kkerrrrbbuuuuuucraaackkk. just...incredible. pillsbury toaster strudel. if beethoven made breakfast.

do you have a great weather shot of the bay area? send it to ureport. we'll feature it on our newscast or our website. visit7news.com for details.

we know that weather plays a huge role in people's lives but i didn't have any idea how social media was so powerful. until we had one storm hit and i was amazed how much how many people respond order facebook and twitter. our viewers are the eyes and ears of what is happening out there. >> it's very touching to know that people who watch us do what we do make a personal connection with us. >> i love social media because it's so interactive. now anybody can get on twitter and facebook and do pictures of weather that is happening. the radar can show you what is going on in the clouds and fog in the clouds but people out there seeing it, taking the pictures and telling me what is happening is just another layer of protection.

>> the weather experience, you come to learn when you have a cut off low, it does have a mind of its own. >> you have to remember what happened in the past and take that into consideration. oftentimes you do have bh get of that gutted feeling. >> i was in little rock, arkansas. one day we had 52 tornadoes in the middle of january. grandmother was baby sitting her granddaughter and getting ready to watch the news. i was listening to the ham radio operators and sky warners. i got on the air and told it where it was going. she grabbed the granddaughter and went into the hallway and got down and prepared for the tornado to come. about 20 or 30 seconds that updated, a tree fell right on the living room where the

granddaughter was. >> i love the fact that i'm reporting on one topic that has such profound effect on people's lives. its responsibility that i take seriously. we do much better job than when i got in the business years ago. we do a much better job just decades ago. accuracy people strive for. we don't want to miss a forecast. we don't want to say it's going to rain half an inch and and coe sprinkles and you cancelled your plans. we don't want that as much as you don't want that. you lose your credibility. >> i think the public, they see us on tv for such a short amount of time. they don't actually realize how much time it takes to put together that minute 30 or two

minute weather slotted. >> i wanted to make sure i give you the information that you can use, whether it's just information or dressing your kids the right way. whether it's not going up to to tahoe because you'll have an eight-hour drive. i want to give you information

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>> something remarkable is happening here in the bay area and the beautiful rolling hills and vineyards of livermore.'s cm it's camp arroyo. >> abc7 is proud to bring you the stories of some incredibly courageous people battling life-threatening diseases. in our special program called i just like me." ♪ >> it's amazing be be here with all these kids. it's exciting and reminds me what i need to do. >> the taylor family foundation brings kids together like these through camp arroyo. >> thank you fay legislator family foundation! >> they partnered with the east bay regional park district in 1997 to build this state of